Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Tunga penetrans
Niguas, Chigoe fleas
February-March; these fleas burrow deep into skin of humans (often under the toenails) or livestock like pigs and can cause considerable pain.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Siphonaptera
Family
Tungidae
Genus
Tunga
Species
penetrans
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 1947
Mode of introduction: Accidental
Introduction Pathway: Contaminant
Subpathway: Parasites/pathogens on animals
Invasive status: No data
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Floreana, Santiago
- Peck, S.B. (2001) Smaller Orders of Insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 278 pp.
- Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
- Peck, S.B. (1996) Origin and development of an insect fauna on a remote archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. In: Keast A., Miller S.E. (eds.): The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea to eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 91-122.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Tunga penetrans", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=11111. Accessed 9 June 2025.